The present invention pertains generally to computers, and more particularly to method and apparatus for speeding the boot-up process in computers.
Booting up a computer, and in particular an IBM-compatible personal computer (PC), often takes longer than desired. For example, it is not atypical for a PC using the Windows(copyright) 98 operating system to require one minute or more to boot up. This delay can be untenable when the PC needs to be activated on an expedited basis. For instance, if the user needs a phone number quickly, it can be more expeditious to look the number up in a telephone directory as opposed to a PC if the PC requires booting. Thus, unless PC""s can be booted more quickly than as is currently the case, their use in applications that require fast initialization is limited. Thus, there is a need for a PC with a shorter boot up time than is currently available.
The present invention provides method and apparatus for speeding the boot-up of a computer. According to one embodiment of the invention, a boot program stored on a boot disk is cached in a nonvolatile memory, and retrieved by the system from the cache during the boot sequence instead of from the boot disk, thereby increasing the speed of access to the boot program. This and various other embodiments of the invention are described below.